Bol in Vail offers something new

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The story of Bol’s hamburgers begins generations ago in Squaw Creek, near modern day Edwards. The Eaton clan — family of Earl Eaton, who would help found Vail Mountain in the 1960s — homesteads in the area, and lays claim to land there. Earl learns of the sport of skiing on homemade planks, at night, down old logging routes. Then he meets Pete Seibert at the Red Onion bar in Aspen and the two find and found Vail Mountain.

Fast forward a few generations. To avoid exorbitant taxes and keep their land from being developed, the Eatons deem their land in Edwards as agricultural and begin raising cattle on it.

Today, Mike Eaton carries on the tradition, and has chosen Bol as the major recipient of his beef.

“We’re the only people in the world who are able to buy beef from Eaton Ranch and use it in a restaurant,” says executive chef Julian Smith.

It’s fitting that Smith shares the surname of Hannibal from the A-Team, because Hannibal’s famous quote “Give me a minute, I’m good. Give me a week, I’m great. Give me six months, I’m unbeatable,” is also true for Julian. He whips up delicious meals in minutes. With a few weeks to think over his menu, he’ll come up with great additions. And with years to cultivate relationships, he’s unbeatable. If you haven’t been into Bol recently, you absolutely must try what Smith’s been working on.

“Now that we’ve been working with Eaton Ranch a few years, we’ve gotten good at the process — how long to grass feed, who’s the best butcher, what cuts of meat do we use, what cuts of meat do we grind, what type of cattle does best, etcetera,” says Smith.

The result is a hamburger that won’t leave your thoughts for as long as you live.

But it doesn’t end with Eaton Ranch beef for Smith. For example, foodies often complain there’s no place to get Indian food in Vail.

Not true.

Smith just added Indian lamb stew to his menu, with coconut green curry, English peas, basmati rice and flatbread, it’s a gourmet delight in every bite.

Have you ever had a slice of gourmet pizza with an egg on top?

Have you ever had a slice of gourmet pizza with a perfectly cooked blue Araucana egg on top? Like the Eaton Ranch burger, the pizza with Araucana egg may just ruin regular pizza for you forever.

But not to be outdone by the kitchen, the drinks at Bol make Vail’s bowling alley a destination in itself.

This summer, Bol is presenting a series of specialty gin drinks to capture the atmosphere of summer in the Rockies.

“The drinks are based off the botanicals that each gin is distilled with,” says bar manager Tacy Rowland. “We’re bringing in all these exciting gins, and in the summer people are on vacation, so why not try something new?”

Indeed, even if you’ve been to Bol before, stopping by this summer will give you an opportunity to try something new from both the bar and the kitchen

This story first ran in EAT! Magazine, available in stand-alone locations throughout the community. The stories are sponsored by each restaurant.